Evie by Moose Tears

released February 13, 2017

I started writing "Evie" in late 2015, at the beginning of what I thought might be a serious relationship. It began as my first effort to actually write some happy songs -- "Evapourate," though perhaps not exactly a joyous celebration of a track, was intended to be a song of reassurance and affirmation -- but quickly transformed as that relationship began to unravel. "Eviscerate" and "Evacuate" more or less wrote themselves as typical Moose Tears songs of embitterment and departure, but allowed me to explore some new musical frontiers. The outliers on the first half of Evie are "Eventuate," which like its counterpart "Evacuate", is meant as a semi-tongue-in-cheek pastiche of experimental rock and pop-punk, and "Evenso," which was a personal song written about a death in my family and the guilt I felt over not being able to see that person before they passed. At some point during this period, I decided to shape all my song titles around the schtick of having them start with letters 'EV' -- titles have always been tough for me and this simplified the process of choosing -- and determined to stick with it for the latter portion of the album as well.

As 2016 continued, I watched with horror as the America I knew and loved seemed to dissolve. I recorded a cover of Nirvana's "Something in the Way" for no particular reason save for perhaps the sense of quiet unease it evoked, and used it to break up the album into two parts. Where the first half of the album is focused on elements of my personal life, the second half sees me assuming the role of social critic. I have no right to do so, and won't pretend that I believe these songs to be any sort of insightful social commentary, but as I saw the trajectory of the nation continuing to decline, I found myself unable to write about anything else. Mostly I was exhausted by the rampant hypocrisy, especially on "Evangelist," which takes aim at faux-Christian anti-gay activists and in particular the virulently homophobic Republican legislators that are eventually revealed to be gay themselves. "Evolve" I intended to be a critique of materialism and celebrity-worship, especially of those who prove themselves wholly unworthy of it. "Evildoers" was an ironically-macho expression of my disgust with the manner in which veterans are continually treated in the U.S., and the extreme lack of care given to those suffering from PTSD and related illnesses. Finally, "Everyone" was an extremely difficult song I wrote after the Orlando nightclub attack, having watched the mother of a 19-year old boy -- the same age as myself at the time -- still unaware of her son's whereabouts (he was later identified as one those who had been killed), asking, "can't we all just get along?" I saw myself there, any my own mom asking that question, and my heart broke.

Music has always been crucial to my ability to process and understand my surroundings, and I hope that you will indulge my musings on the various events that have happened in my life and in the world at large over the past year. I hope we can come together, and short of that, I hope that perhaps some part of this record can make you smile or grant you some solace.

Much love,
Moose Tears